What I Wouldn't Do For Some Liquor
by SquickWrites
Summary: Haymitch didn't go back to Twelve with Katniss and Gale. But despite whatever Katniss thinks, Haymitch has reasons. She doesn't need to understand, it isn't her business. But the Man is only Human... 'Catching Fire Spoilers! Haymitch POV'
1. Chapter 1

**I literally just said, "Oh Haymitch, yeah!" been reading Mockingjay.**

**Oh hey, wait. YOU GUYS DIDN'T KNOW I READ THE HUNGER GAMES? May as well mention I read Leviathan too, and I cannot wait for the last book.**

**Anyway.**

**It was when they go back to 12 with Cressida and all the people so Gale and Katniss can be filmed. Somewhere they say like: "Haymitch couldn't face it… without a bottle." And Katniss was all bitchy about it (GUESS WHO HATES THE MAIN CHARACTER~) but I had a different idear. Now IDK whether Haymitch comes in… hold on I'm about to go read this part of the book, brb.**

**Okay back, YEAH.**

**Well, since she doesn't have a name, I'm calling Haymitch's old girlfriend Deliah. BECAUSE I CAN.**

**So here it is:**

…**yeah**

**~Chae**

**X.x.X**

'_I couldn't face it without a bottle.'_

If anything would piss off Katniss Everdeen, it was the idea that during such a crucial time, I wouldn't be willing to work. Not without liquor, anyway. She wouldn't believe my words had any emotion behind them, and she would begin a hateful descent into anger and shame on my behalf.

Well Katniss Everdeen didn't know me, and I couldn't care less what she thought.

They left in the hovercraft sometime in the afternoon, but I didn't bother watching them leave. I was already at the door of my sorry excuse for a house by the time they left the launching pad.

I opened the door and closed it quickly behind me. Then I opened it a second time and slammed it shut. Loud and clear, no one would be messing with me any time soon.

But as soon as the door was closed, I leaned against it and just… fell. To the ground, to pieces, to tears. Because Katniss Everdeen didn't know me, and I didn't care what Katniss Everdeen thought. Even if she thought I was just slacking off, she had no clue what was really going on. She had no clue what I would recall, and what I would go through.

I looked a mess, covered in dirt and tears. But I didn't care. No one was going to see my face. As I banged my head back onto the door, I tried to replace sadness with pain. Over and over again, but the hurt wasn't nearly as strong as the memories.

_Maysilee._

That little girl I had never cared about. But when we entered the games, everything was suddenly different. I had never asked her to become my ally. I swear she did that on her own. But then again, I never bothered to stop her. She was smarter than me though. Just when I was becoming friendly, she broke it off. Because she was wise and she knew that one day soon, one of us was going to have to die. And she didn't want to do that to her friend.

Women.

And of course, just minutes later, she died of course. Killed by a couple of flamingos. Because that sounds like _such a_ great way to go. For maybe a second I remembered that this was District 13, and sarcasm did not exist around here. But then I reconsidered and realized that this was District 13, this place was a living hell, and I hadn't had a good bottle of liquor in over a month. So to hell with 13's trends.

I glanced down at the schedule on my left arm, reluctant to open my eyes. Technically, it was time for me to be socializing. But I took after my student and chose to ignore the schedule as I pleased. I was all up for saving Peeta. That kid was better than a brat like Katniss any day. But right now… I couldn't let myself be controlled. I had to be my own instead of being controlled by a government that I couldn't stand. But they said they would help, and it was all I had to go off of.

I had no one to socialize with. Anyone I would be willing to talk with was gone.

_My family. Deliah._

After the Quarter Quell, I never really had the chance to be happy. The Capitol was not happy with my winnings. Using the force field. Ha, I sure did make a mockery of them, didn't I? It was meant to be their way of keeping me inside, but I used it for myself to get _out_side. And the Capitol did not liked that. In return, they murdered my mother. Perhaps she was the only woman I would openly care for. My _brother_. I was rough on him, but then again you had to be rough on any growing man in District 12. Because things would never go easy on you.

And then there was _Deliah._ I would never have said it but I loved her. We had been a couple of high school sweethearts, but I always turned her away in public. She didn't care, though. Deliah would smile and laugh at me in private while I tried to keep up a face of steel. But Deliah made me smile too, and it was hard. And she knew that, so she didn't give up on me.

So when the Capitol killed her, I pretty much stopped smiling.

I shook my head. Deliah. What was I doing thinking about _her_? A sweetheart, that was all she had ever been and all she'd ever had a chance to be. So suppose I forget her and the rest of them, and try to think about someone that was actually _alive_.

I went through a list, knocking people off and as I went I realized that there was pretty much no one I had ever cared about that was still living.

Perhaps I could try to talk about Hazelle instead.

She had been taking good care of my home right before the Quarter Quell. The first thing she did when she walked into my house was gasp, those green eyes that did not belong to someone in the Seam going wide.

"Where's the broom?" she asked me, looking around the house in disgust.

That place had been a mess, hadn't it?

I looked her in the eye with a half assed glare. "I don't have one."

Hazelle left the house and came back no more than five minutes later carrying all the cleaning supplies I could ever imagine. This time her face was determined. Then skeptical as her eyes searched the first floor. Then with a look askance, she opened her mouth and commanded me, "Take a bath before I clean the tub. You look a wreck, so I'll start with this floor."

And then she slammed down the bucket and gave me a glare that somehow forced my legs to move away from the table and up the stairs. For the first time in a long while, both my house and I were clean.

Hazelle would come in every morning to take care of the house. Sometimes I would wake up and she was there, sipping a cup of tea without my permission. But she had become comfortable here and didn't bother being considered a visitor anymore. She may as well have lived here. And to be honest, for the most part I didn't mind. Hazelle would push a cup of tea my way, and most times, I'd swat it back at her, reaching under the table for whatever alcohol I had gotten from the Hob most recently. Other days, I'd take the tea like one of her obedient children and we would sit down to have a nice conversation. You know, I had tried to stay sober around her. It seemed sick to be piss drunk around a mother of four, and she never ceased to refresh my conscience. I can almost laugh at those lectures she gave me on the effects of alcohol while she swept the floor as though it was her worst enemy.

For a second, I was calm remembering that. It was the first time that I'd had a friend in a long time.

But then I recalled that I had left her to burn up in flames in District 12, and I was unhappy.

I had just sat back and waited for her to die; knowing perfectly well that something terrible was going to happen to her. So perhaps there really was a reason I was staying away from the Hawthorne mother.

Thinking of Effie Trinket only got me riled up. She had been annoying and bratty, and I would never tell her because she wouldn't let me live it down, but she had been useful. But I couldn't put her on the list of the living because I had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. No one could see me. I didn't bother acting like I didn't care about what happened to that pink headed know it all. Believe it or not, I had a heart, and I didn't really want anyone else I knew to die.

Peeta could be killed any moment.

Katniss was just a ticking time bomb.

I had nothing left to hold on to.

I slammed my head against the door one last time, the tears refreshing themselves, letting out a moan of agony.

"What I wouldn't do for a god damned bottle of liquor right now."

**X.x.X**

**Lol, Haymitch is such a ladies man. I support him with like every woman he has interacted with… but aside from Deliah, I tried t make it look like they were good friends. In a way.**

**Well then. I have a feeling this came out better than I thought it would. 8D it's 11:55 p.m. right now sooo~ I need to sleep. But WHO SLEEPS NOW A DAYS? I'm actually on spring break, and my friend Gracie threatened to kill me if I didn't finish Mockingjay by the time we get back to school.**

**So I'm trying to finish that book, because I wouldn't put it past Gracie to murder me.**

**I'M JUST WAITING FOR STUFF TO HAPPEN TO FINNICK, BECAUSE EVERYONE TOLD ME.**

**BUT I LOVE HIM.**

**I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.**

**I have to go before I cry over Finnick and then start thinking about Cinna and… and… oh god here come the water works. BYE.**

**~Chae**


	2. The 74th Reaping

**Forever ago, I wrote that one story. Now, people said they wanted me to continue the story and maybe tweak Haymitch's attitude a bit, and I finally got the first book back from the French teacher ((Yes, I let her borrow it.)) and I was thinking of starting from the beginning. If you want me to just stick with the stuff from Mockingjay, just ask 3. Otherwise, I'm working my way backwards to that point, but there may be a pause around Catching Fire because GUESS WHAT? My friend Aliyah has that one XD. So! Going through it starting from the Reaping, ppl! And just to say, I love playing with this man's mind. SO LET US BEGIN.**

**~Chae**

And so came the day of the Reaping. The people from the Capitol took great joy in this, just like a holiday, didn't they? I had watched all of the Reapings from all the other districts, just like a good citizen would. Besides, what else would I do with my time? And now it was our turn. Everyone's televisions would be turned on District 12, the land of coal miners, starvation, and rules that half the people refused to follow.

I took another swig of the vodka I had. Now _this_ was the good stuff. Never ask where the Hob gets these things, just take them and run. Then I considered that perhaps I should be down there, at the reaping. To this day, I was the only living victor in 12, and I wouldn't bother trying to remember the other one. More liquor. And being such, the only victor, it was my job to be the most interesting thing in this desolate district.

It was time to go.

**o-o-o**

To the surprise of many, I have a minor form of control over myself while intoxicated. It's been going on for too many years now that I drink that stuff like athletes drink water for me to not be able to handle myself. As the most interesting person in the twelfth district, I may as well make a show of myself. The dear mayor had just finished rambling off the name of that one other victor, whose name I still can't recall when I staggered onto the stage.

"A-And! 'ello Panem! 'ow you been do'n today? 't'sa bout time this sho-show-" I had to pause to be sure I was slurring my words correctly, just enough to annoy everyone. "Got started, huh?"

Judging from the faces of my fellow citizens, no one had understood a word of that, and everyone in Panem was probably laughing.

Proud of my accomplishment, I settled down sloppily into my chair. Just for dramatic effect, I reached out to grab Effie Trinket. It looked like a hug, but judging from the way she moved away from me, she knew I was aiming to pull off that wig of hers. Lucky for her, she jumped out of the way and readjusted it for show. The mayor scowled and then frowned; sweat suddenly appearing on his face as he realized how this must look. To draw attention away, the mayor continued on with the program, introducing Effie Trinket.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!"

She continued talking, but these were things I didn't care to hear. There was no chance of the odds being in _anyone's_ favor in this rathole. Where we had no food, barely enough water, and you couldn't trust anyone. If you were in a good enough arena, being in the Games would be the closest to wealth some of us would ever get.

"Ladies first!" Effie eventually spoke loud enough for me to pay any mind. If anything, the woman had a talent for making a show. She lifted her hand high above her head with a pageant smile and then dug down into the clear ball full of names someone always dreaded would be spoken. Everyone drew in a deep breath… Effie was loving the spotlight, as she held her hand in and shuffled the papers around for effect. Then she went to the podium, smoothed out the paper and read the name out clearly.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

No one smiled so widely as Effie, or even close to it for that matter. There were frowns and murmurs and uncertainties throughout the crowd, and even I found myself scowling as I saw the young, blonde haired girl making her way to the stage. She couldn't have possibly been older than twelve, if possible, she would have been younger. Her face had drained, her steps were stiff and mechanical. Her clothes are a bit ruffled, and the look on her face is clearly trying to withhold complete and utter terror.

And suddenly there was a shout. And more and more shouting. Over and over. "Prim! Prim! PRIM!" A taller girl with dark brown hair and grey eyes of the Seam burst through the crowd, and grabbed 'Primrose'. She suddenly pushed the little girl behind her. "I volunteer! I volunteer as a tribute!"

I was intoxicated beyond the point of alertness, and yet I was completely attentive to this situation. A volunteer? This hadn't happened in… ever. No one ever wanted to participate in a game that certified their death. A volunteer could have defined the word 'rare' in District 12.

Judging from Effie's expression, she really didn't know what to do. Her eyebrows were scrunched in a confused manner and her smile suddenly drew up stiff. She looked at the mayor, then at the rest of the district, and then back to Primrose and the other girl.

"Lovely!" Says Effie Trinket. "But I believe there is a small matter of introducing the Reaping winner and _then_ asking for volunteers, and if one comes forth then we… um… we…?" Effie looked around again, unsure of exactly what 'we' do. She glanced at the mayor once again and he spoke, a grimace newly placed upon his face.

"What does it matter?" He stares at the brown haired girl with an acknowledging look. Perhaps they knew each other. "What does it matter?" He grunted once more, taking his seat as he said, "Let her come forward."

My district knew how to dramatize a scene. No one had spoken a word this whole time. Some people were slack-jawed, others were stoic, and the only sound that could be heard was the screaming of Primrose. "No! No! You can't go!" she continued screeching and holding on to the taller girl in some vain attempt to stop her.

But the older one stays steely-faced, muttering, "Let go."

But she doesn't let go. She doesn't let go until a much older young man lifts her away from the girl's waist, and pulls her back. However she doesn't give up. She keeps screaming and thrashing against him, tears pouring down her face in a way that told everyone right then and there that _this_, these stupid games, were above and beyond wrong. They were devilish and sadistic, and they were tearing people like this apart. The man mumbled something to the brunette, and then she climbed the steps with a brave face.

"Well bravo!" Effie Trinket, whether she was an air head or simply indulging in the pain the rest of us share at this moment, is still smiling and speaking with an unusual amount of gusto. "That's the spirit of the games!" she moves the microphone over to the new tribute's face. "What's your name?"

I can see the girl swallow. She's struggling to stay strong, but she's good at keeping the face. "Katniss Everdeen."

Effie seems to chuckle at this revelation. "I bet my buttons that was your sister! Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we?"

Dumbass.

"Come on everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our new tribute!" she watched the crowd, and to my own surprise, even though I was among them, the crowd watched her. They watched her and did nothing more. Not a single hand came together, not a single cheer left a mouth. The real silence had begun to drift, and that was one of the most rebellious things we could do. This was nothing to celebrate. This was crime. This was murder at the hands of a leader who hid behind no justice.

And then the signs begin. The first one was an older woman, who held a hand up high, then she touched her three middle fingers to her lips, and held it up again. As if it were some sort of power switch, hands all through the crowd rose and rose, and in that moment, I felt like I was the only one who hadn't raised this sign of love, and peace.

I looked at Katniss and could see her resolve being crushed. She pouted, but tried to keep a straight face. Her eyes blinked more than they should, holding tears, and I saw her tightly clenched fists quivering as she tried to stand tall.

It was time to put on one more show for the day, if only for her sake. She was already trying so hard and besides, within twenty four hours she would be my student. We may as well become acquainted.

"Look at her! Look at this one!" I laughed through my slurred screeches, scrambling onto the stage. I threw an arm around her and gave her a rough squeeze, some sort of signal that if she sheds a single tear, all of her chances were dead and gone. Even so, I cackled. "I like her! Lot's of…" Pause for effect… "Spunk!" I yelled.

Everyone who had been so serene seconds ago was suddenly baffled by me once more. Talent, I sure as hell had it.

And now we throw in a rebellious statement.

"More then you!" I stumbled towards the camera, completely aware of how I tripped over my feet. Then I jabbed my finger at the lens and shouted once more, "MORE THAN YOU!"

And now…

I threw myself off the stage, and closed my eyes. The impact was rough, but the job was done. The crowd and the capitol had been entertained.

A photo finish for the most interesting person in District 12.

**X.x.X**

**WAT. I dunno. I like to mess with the mind of Haymitch. I am just all over the place experimenting with him. I do good good? No? kkkkk thnxbai I have to go to math!**

**~Chae**


End file.
